. Bird lore . id on a limb, and not dropped to the ground. I was greatly interested in comparing the length of time between the hatching A Successful Failure 203 of the young^Wrens and their departure from the nest with the similar time re-quired in the rearing of a brood of Hermit Thrushes, studied by me the pre-ceding year in northern Michigan. As the Hermit Thrush is strictly a ground-nesting bird, the dangers to its young must be far greater than the dangersmet by immature House Wrens, which are raised under cover and off the , it is not surprising that nature should hav
. Bird lore . id on a limb, and not dropped to the ground. I was greatly interested in comparing the length of time between the hatching A Successful Failure 203 of the young^Wrens and their departure from the nest with the similar time re-quired in the rearing of a brood of Hermit Thrushes, studied by me the pre-ceding year in northern Michigan. As the Hermit Thrush is strictly a ground-nesting bird, the dangers to its young must be far greater than the dangersmet by immature House Wrens, which are raised under cover and off the , it is not surprising that nature should have had the young Thrushesready to leave their nest ten days after hatching, and should have kept the youngWrens in their box for sixteen days. The difference in the relative developmentof the two broods, upon deserting their nests, was very marked. The youngHermits could scarcely fly at all, and depended upon the thick underbrush forprotection; whereas, all the young Wrens, except one weakling, could fly a num-. THE WORLD BEFORE HIM ber of yards from the first, while, on the day after their departure, they apparentlycould fly at will, and in general appearance and actions differed but little fromtheir parents. Thus, these Wrens were much better equipped than the Thrushesfor the struggle for existence. Throughout the nesting period, and for several days thereafter, I carefullywatched the relation between the Wren family and the multitudinous EnglishSparrows that were ever present. The Sparrows bothered the parent Wrensby constantly dogging their every footstep, or perhaps I should say one occasion, a Sparrow grabbed the female Wren by the tail, just as theWren darted into her box, with its sparrow-proof hole. Although I have anintense hatred for the EngHsh Sparrow, yet I must give the devil his due, and saythat I never saw a Sparrow offer to injure a young Wren. The former followed 204 Bird - Lore the latter about out of an ajiparently never-satisfied curiosity. I
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